The online petition, addressed to the Environment Agency, Spelthorne Borough Council and Prime Minister David Cameron, has received around 1,800 signatures within 24 hours of going live.

Hosted on the website 38 Degrees, the campaign is aiming to hit the key 100,000-signature threshold needed to trigger a debate in Parliament as to what caused the death of seven-year-old Zane at his home in Thameside, Chertsey, on February 8.

Zane died from an unspecified illness, believed to be related to floodwater in the family home.

Ella Oates, who created the petition, has known the family for several years, as her daughter, Eva, is the same age as Zane and attended the same NCT group with his parents, Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler.

She said: “I just think that the authorities are not helping in any way, there’s a complete wall of silence.

“Eighteen weeks on and Nicole and Kye have no answers about what happened.

“Here we are, still no further forward, so we are just hoping to prompt people into action to join the campaign and get a proper public debate.”

Hundreds gather for funeral of Zane Gbangbola Zane’s parents suspect land behind their home was contaminated after being used as a landfill site and say that hydrogen cyanide was found in their blood in tests taken after the road was evacuated.

However, the county council denied the area was previously used for landfill and Surrey Police has said it is still awaiting toxicology results to confirm the cause of death.

The seven-year-old died from an as-yet-undisclosed illness during the February floods after water filled the family home at Thameside.

When David Cameron visited Chertsey during the floods, it was two days after Zane had died, though he did not visit the family.

Ms Oates hopes the rapidly-growing petition will force the Prime Minister to acknowledge the incident and the plight of Zane’s parents, including Kye, who remains paralysed from the waist down since the incident.

She said: “It is growing pretty fast but the biggest barrier is just generating awareness.

“When people realise what happened to Zane, they are shocked and immediately want to get on board to support us.

“Anyone who is a parent will realise that this could happen to anyone – that is why we want to start this as a national campaign.

“It doesn’t just affect people in Chertsey, it affects all of us.”

Mother of three Helen Smith, from Staines, is among those who has already signed the petition.

She said: “There are so many discrepancies about what happened and it’s just been far too long.

“The parents just can’t get on and grieve privately for their loss.”

Louise Penfold, who has also signed up, said: “A key concern is the fact that Kye and Nicole are having to fight to get really basic information and the truth about how their son died.”

Zane's coffin being carried at his funeral

The family's neighbours have now spoken of their subsequent lack of faith in the authorities as a result of a distinct lack of information about Zane’s death and the mixed messages.

Neighbour Carol Bartlett has lived at Thameside for two years and is one of 17 residents whose homes were evacuated immediately after the tragic event.

She said: “How can they do a port-mortem, further tests, toxicology tests to find out what he died of but keep them hanging around with the promise of telling them what the cause of death was but not giving them any information or feedback?

“I just think this wall of silence from the people who are supposed to protect us is absolutely appalling.”

She said there was little to prevent this kind of incident happening again if the borough council, county council or the Environment Agency did not acknowledge there was a danger.

The family’s neighbour added: “I am in no doubt, with global warming, that it will flood again. What will it take, how much loss of life will there be, before they do something about it?”

Ian Berry has lived in his home backing on to the Gbangbola’s for two years.

He told the Herald & News how "terrifying" and "surreal" it was when he was told by police what had happened to Zane. He admitted he feared for his own life after being whisked off for blood tests that day.

He said that since being permitted to return home, no-one from Surrey Police, the Environment Agency or Spelthorne Borough Council had visited to check in or offer advice about how people living nearby could protect themselves.

“As neighbours, we have had a sum total of no advice”, Mr Berry said. “I don't understand. There seems to be so much evidence, with the fire service saying there was hydrogen cyanide.

“To put their heads in the sand just seems a bit negligent.

“To leave people unaware and unprotected, and relying on newspapers and the internet for information, is negligence of the highest order when it is their job to protect us.”

Mr Berry’s kitchen looks out over the land and infilled lake, where Zane’s parents believe the contamination lies, after seeing the results of a Landmark homecheck survey.

He added : “It looks so idyllic out there sometimes but I think it is a real concern for a lot of people.”